STOP Simplified Beckman XL-I SV protocol

Simplified Beckman XL-I SV protocol
This protocol is for qualified users operating Beckman ProteomeLab XL-I protein
Characterization System (AUC) in IBC 402 only. Dr. Jao accepts no
responsibility for actions taken as a result of using this protocol. Reading the
manufacturer's Instruction Manual (LXL/AI-IM-10) is highly recommended.
STOP
Sample preparation:
1.
Sample volume for each concentration is 400 μl. Please prepare at least 450μl
for loading. In addition, excess buffer for reference cells and for rinse is
needed, at least 1 mL per different concentration.
2.
Use fresh-prepared sample: samples having stored under frozen condition,
gone through freeze/thaw cycles or filtered by concentration treatments
(such as Centricon®) may result in aggregation, a major noise in AUC analysis!
Gel filtration or extensive dialysis is recommended for buffer exchange,
especially important step when using Rayleigh interference optical system.
3.
In order to ensure consistent results, please spin samples at highest speed in a
microfuge for 10 minutes to check for precipitation (aggregation) or to see if
absorbance drops after centrifugation before sedimentation experiments.
4.
No radioactive or microbial samples allowed.
5.
The workable absorbance range of samples is 0.1-1.2 OD for absorbance
optical system. You may perform a wavelength scan on any UV/Vis
spectrometer to find out where your sample absorbs. Please note that the
path length for standard double sector centerpiece is 1.2cm.
Cell assembling and alignment:
Please refer to Section 2 of Beckman Coulter document, “An-50 Ti and An-60
Ti Analytical Rotor, Cells, and Counterbalance”, for sample cell and
counterbalance assembling. Choose suitable windows (quartz/sapphire) and
centerpieces (double-sector/six-channel) for your experiments. In addition, you
may watch a short movie clip which is published by Peter Schuck’s lab on Jove,
“Assembly, Loading, and Alignment of an Analytical Ultracentrifuge Sample Cell”.
6.
Assemble cells and use a cell torque wrench to tighten the screw ring to
about 120-140 inch-pounds (~135 inch-pounds if a 3-mm or a Spin Analytical
Meniscus Matching centerpiece is used.)
7.
Load samples using gel-loading tips. Place the cell on its rack with the screwring toward you. The reference sector is on the left if a standard double-sector
centerpiece is used. Load 404 uL in reference and 400 uL in sample sector.
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8.
Seal the filling holes by inserting red gaskets secured by copper housing plugs.
9.
Weight each cell and counterbalance. Put a pair of cells with the same
weights (±0.5gram) in the opposite positions in a rotor. Adjust the weight of
counterbalance so it weights within 0.5 gram of the opposite loaded cell. The
counterbalance, arrow pointing away from the center, goes in position 4 in
rotor An-60 Ti and position 8 in rotor An-50 Ti.
10. Make sure counterbalance and cells are aligned.
Start up:
11. Power up the instrument.
12. Slide the chamber door open and remove three protecting caps lying on the
bottom. Install the rotor by slowly lowering over the drive spindle. Give the
rotor a little spin to make sure it is in position.
13. Remove the red protecting cap and yellow tapes from the monochromator.
Install the monochromator by first align the index pin with the index pin holes
and hand-tighten the red holding ring firmly. The arm of monochromator is
about 30 degree to the chamber floor.
14. Close chamber door slowly and press [VACUUM] on the instrument control
panel to turn on vacuum. Monitor pressure closely to check any sign of cell
leakage.
15. Set running temperature (usually to 20 ℃) by pressing [TEMP] on the control
panel or set up on PC.
Test run (Absorbance optical system only):
16. Boot up the control PC and log on to Windows.
17. Double-click the ProteomeLab icon. When lightening sign shows up in the
pop-up, “System is initializing…”, the instrument is connected to the control PC.
18. Choose pulldown File: Open… and select “SV_Abs.scn” to set up a
sedimentation velocity experiment using absorbance optical system. Check
parameters:
Rotor: ⊙4 hole
XL Setting: Speed 3000, Time hold, Temp 20.
Cell setting: ⊙Velocity v Absorbance, Rmin 5.95, Rmax 7.25, W1 280
Detail : Radial step size 0.003, Replicate 1; Mode ⊙Continuous;
Centerpiece ⊙2; Data Folder C:\xlidata
Option : v Radial calibration before first scan.
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v Stop XL after last scan.
Overlay last 10 scans.
Method : Delayed Start 0 minutes; Time between scans 0 :1 :0 ;
Number of Scans 300.
19. When the parameters are set, click Start Single Scan . The instrument will
perform delay calibration and radial calibration automatically at 3000 rpm. A
profile will appear when the scan is done. Check for possible leakage by
meniscus position. If anything goes wrong, reassemble cells.
20. Choose pulldown XL: Stop XL when done.
Start experiment:
21. Monitor the rotor temperature displayed on the instrument control panel. It
takes more than one hour to cool down to 20℃ and more than 4 hours to 4℃.
22. Once the temperature is stable for at least 1 hour, uncheck ”Radial
calibration before first scan” under Option (
Radial calibration before first
scan), change the XL Setting speed to the rotor speed for the experiment, say,
50000 rpm and click Start Method Scan to start scans.
23. The raw data will be stored within a folder named by the date of the
experiment in C:\xlidata.
Stop experiment:
24. When there is no observable sedimentation, the experiment may be stopped
by choosing pull-down menu Scan: Stop Scan and then XL: Stop XL.
25. After the run has stopped, press [VACUUM] on the control panel to vent. This
takes about 5 minutes.
26. Slide-open the chamber door, detach the monochromator carefully by
unscrewing the red holding ring counterclockwise. Attach yellow tapes and
the red cap to protect the optics from dust. The monochromator should
always be stored in its original case when not in AUC chamber.
27. Take the rotor out and restore to its stand. Return the three protecting caps to
the chamber bottom. Close the chamber door.
28. Switch off the instrument main power.
29. Record on the log book the accumulated number of rotor revolutions, which
is located on the left of the control head and the run time which is displayed
on the control penal.
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Disassemble and clean cells:
30. Remove cells and counterbalance from the rotor.
31. Withdraw sample using gel-loading tip and transfer to a centrifuge tube if the
sample is to be recovered.
32. Rinse the sector of sample side with
buffer from the reference sector or
fresh buffer.
33. Empty
both
sectors
by
applying
suction or pipetting.
34. Loosen the screw-ring using the cell torque wrench.
35. Separate all cell components.
36. Clean all cell components, especially centerpiece and
windows;
Centerpiece
and
windows
are
put
individually
in
disposable drain nets and sonicated for 30 minutes in 0.5%
SDS in 50 mL centrifuge tubes then rinsed with plenty of
water before blow-drying by compressed-air pump.
37. Return cell components in sets in the storage cabinet
before noon. Please note that reservation starts at noon
and ends at noon the next day.
Data Analysis:
38. For links to most AUC related software, visit http://www.bbri.org/RASMB/
39. Sedfit, Sedphat, Sedntrep, LAMM could be found on
http://www.analyticalultracentrifugation.com/default.htm. Sedfit is
recommended for basic analysis on Windows OS. In addition, if self- or heteroassociation analysis is required, data should be exported first to Sedphat.
40. Ultrascan could be found on http://www.ultrascan.uthscsa.edu/
41. DCDT+, SVEDBERG could be found on
http://www.jphilo.mailway.com/download.htm.
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